Ukraine sending own aid convoys to war-torn east

Ukraine said it was sending on Thursday its own aid convoys to the war-torn east of the country, as wrangling continued over a mammoth column of Russian trucks rumbling towards the border. ‘Columns of trucks carrying assistance’ will leave the cities of Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv for a government-held town some 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of the besieged rebel bastion of Lugansk, Ukraine's cabinet said in a statement. The International Red Cross will distribute the aid to people living in rebel-held areas, the statement said. The Red Cross was not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for the Ukrainian government said 15 lorries would leave Kiev carrying around 240 tonnes of aid following a government pledge Wednesday of roughly $750,000 (560,000 euros) in urgent assistance for the civilians living in insurgent-held territory, according to AFP.